Summit Night - Part 4

The journey back down from Stella Point was eased for me somewhat with Tunzo taking my backpack. I'd taken more than the normal amount of gear on this ascent, including an auxillary supply of supplementary oxygen, and the thought of carrying this down was not a pleasant one.
For the first time I was able to see the full extent of the journey I had made earlier, and bloody hell was it steep!!! Despite the exhaustion and obvious need to get down quickly, I remembered last years descent down the scree at Kibo in under 2 hours and the damage that had done to my legs. So despite wanting the relative comfort of my tent, I resolved to take it slowly this year, as we still had a 3 - 4 hour walk later in the day.
The mood was one of quiet satisfaction as I made my way down. I could see figures way off in the distance, but only caught up with two, Pene & Peter before finally reaching camp. Sarah was by now being carried down as our guides were sent back up the mountain to assist with bringing back the stragglers. It was well after 12pm when I finally crashed into my tent, too tired to eat, too exhausted even to take my boots off.
Sleep! that was all i needed!